Book Description
Major Pierre “Pete” Ortiz was a Manhattan-born and Paris-educated polymath fluent in five languages. An adventuresome French Foreign Legion veteran specifically recruited by “Wild” Bill Donovan’s Office of Strategic Services (the precursor to both the CIA and U.S. Special Forces) upon his enlistment in the Marines, Ortiz was the officer “Wild Bill” instinctively knew he needed and could rely on to complete a string of clandestine missions.
While recuperating from gunshot wounds received during a behind-the-lines excursion into enemy-held North Africa, Ortiz delivered his After-Action Report directly to Donovan in Washington. After reading it, “Wild Bill” scrawled across the top of the report: “Please re-employ this man as soon as possible.” Ortiz’s handlers heeded Donovan’s request. Within a year Ortiz was surreptitiously parachuted into the Haute Savoie region of Occupied France, where he made contact with the resistance fighters who called themselves Maquisards.
By the time he retired as a United States Marine Corps colonel, he received two Navy Crosses for extraordinary heroism in World War II. He was one of the very few U.S. Marines to serve in combat in Europe during World War II, and one of the most decorated Marine officers of the war.
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My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
THE PHANTOM: The Untold Story of the American Marine the Nazis Could Not Kill by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin is the biography of U.S. Marine Major Pierre “Pete” Ortiz who was nicknamed “Das Fantom” by the Gestapo during WWII. What an amazing, daring, and patriotic man I knew nothing about.
A multi-lingual adventurer who served eight years in the French Foreign Legion in Northern Africa, was a merchant marine seaman, a lion tamer, a riding instructor, and the chauffer to a bootlegger all before serving in the Marines and the fledgling OSS in WWII. Twice Ortiz parachuted into Nazi held France, once before and once after D-Day to equip and train French resistance groups.
This biography gave me so much new information. While I have read about “Wild Bill” and the beginning of American covert operations previously, I did not realize how many Marines were the backbone of the on-the-ground behind-the-lines operations. I found Ortiz’s life fascinating and very well documented throughout this biography, but I was also hoping for more. There is a good portion of the story spent on the set-up of the OSS and “Wild Bill” Donovan that while interesting, it is not why I picked up this book. While Ortiz’s life is told here, I wanted more focus on him, alone as the title infers.
Overall, a book that gives a good overview of the beginnings of the OSS and espionage during WWII while introducing the reader to an astonishing man of action.
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About the Author – Bob Drury
The New York Times bestselling author Bob Drury is the recipient of several national journalism awards as well as a three-time National Magazine Award finalist for his reporting from Belfast, Sarajevo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Darfur among other earthly Edens. His books include THE RESCUE SEASON, A DOG’S GIFT, and, with co-author Tom Clavin, THE HEART OF EVERYTHING THAT IS, HALSEY’S TYPHOON, VALLEY FORGE, BLOOD AND TREASURE, THE LAST HILL and THE LAST STAND OF FOX COMPANY, for which he received the U.S. Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s General Wallace M. Greene, Jr. Award.
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About the Author – Tom Clavin
TOM CLAVIN, whose most recent book is FOLLOW ME TO HELL, is a bestselling author who has worked as a newspaper and web site editor, magazine writer, TV and radio commentator, and a reporter for The New York Times covering entertainment, sports, and the environment. He has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, and National Newspaper Association. Six of his books have been New York Times best sellers: THE HEART OF EVERYTHING THAT IS, DODGE CITY, HALSEY’S TYPHOON, THE LAST STAND OF FOX COMPANY, BLOOD AND TREASURE, and FOLLOW ME TO HELL. Other books that have received popular and critical acclaim include TOMBSTONE, WILD BILL, ALL BLOOD RUNS RED, TO THE UTTERMOST ENDS OF THE EARTH, THE LAST HILL, and LIGHTNING DOWN. Tom is also a nationally syndicated columnist and “The Overlook” can be found at tomclavin.substack.com. His next book, THE LAST OUTLAWS, will be published on November 7 by St. Martin’s Press. For more information, go to tomclavin.com
